Drew Lane, formerly of the 'Drew & Mike' show has a two-year contract at Detroit Sports 105.1 FM. / DFP

By B.J. Hammerstein

Detroit Free Press staff writer

It’s official: The former adult contemporary-formatted WMGC-FM (105.1) was re-branded as Detroit Sports 105.1 when Drew Lane’s new “Sports & More” afternoon show made its debut at 3 p.m. today.

Greater Media Detroit Market Manager Steve Chessare, who oversees operations of WMGC, WRIF-FM (101.1) and WCSX-FM (94.7), said that Lane’s contract is for two years, and that signing him was crucial to the format flip. WMGC also will be the new ESPN Radio Detroit affiliate, Chessare said.

“We weren’t going to do this if Drew wasn’t a part of it,” Chessare said to the Free Press following an 11 a.m. news conference at the Greater Media Detroit offices and studios in Ferndale. “We believe that the Detroit sport fans want an alternative — something engaging, informative and, most of all, entertaining. It’s all about entertaining people.”

The move lines up a compelling afternoon Detroit broadcasting battle: Newbie on the sports front WMGC against sports talk leader WXYT-FM (97.1, the Ticket). Lane would be primarily going up against the highly rated show hosted by Mike Valenti and Terry Foster, whose afternoon sports show on WXYT airs 2-6 p.m.

Tuesday’s Detroit Sports 105.1 lineup begins with ESPN Radio programming: “Mike & Mike” airs from 6-10 a.m. weekdays and outspoken Colin Cowherd’s “The Herd” will air from 10 a.m.-noon. Metro Detroit listeners will get localized sports updates three times an hour during both national shows.

The agreement with ESPN also gives Detroit Sports 105.1 options to pick up programming like Major League Baseball’s World Series, the NBA Finals and the BCS Championship Game. ESPN “Monday Night Football” announcer and Ann Arbor resident Mike Tirico will make a weekly appearance, and the station will have access to the full slate of ESPN’s analysts and personalities, Chessare said.

Detroit local sport personalities Ryan Ermanni and Rico Beard will temporarily host their “Ryan and Rico” show from noon-3 p.m. At the news conference, station officials were asked whether that slot would eventually be home to Matt Dery, who recently left WXYT-FM and his gig hosting Pistons-connected broadcasts. They would only say that more personnel announcements would be made in the future.

But Lane’s show is clearly WMGC’s centerpiece. And the longtime Detroit broadcaster’s ability to engage a variety of subjects, conduct interviews and entertain listeners is a key to the station’s potential success.

In May, Lane and Mike Clark, hosts of the popular “Drew & Mike” morning show on WRIF, were replaced after 22 years on the air. Dave Hunter and Charles Urquhart, hosts of the “Dave & Chuck the Freak” show on CIMX-FM (88.7), took over the WRIF morning show in late May. Because Greater Media owns WMGC and WRIF, Lane is now on the same roster with the show that replaced him.

“It’s rare to have the best player in the business,” said Jason Dixon, the new WMGC program director. New to metro Detroit, Dixon spent the past three years in Raleigh, N.C., managing a cluster of Capitol Broadcasting’s sports-formatted radio stations, including WCMC-FM (99.9 The Fan).

“In terms of Drew’s show, I want Drew to be Drew,” Dixon said. “This is a sports-format radio station. Part of what Drew has always done is talk sports. Bottom line: We want to entertain our audience. There are a million different ways to get there.”

Longtime “Drew and Mike” producers Mike Wolters and Marc Fellhauer are both joining Lane. Fellhauer will serve as cohost of “Sports & More” and handle the 7-8 p.m. hour immediately following Lane’s show.

It’ll be heavy on the sports talk, for sure, but Lane said “Sports & More” should appeal to “Drew and Mike” fans, too.

“I think they’ll like it,” Lane said. “The podcasts, which was a radio show with no limits, got a lot of great responses.”

“We’ll talk about that, no doubt,” Lane said. “I’m sure (Clark) will come up today. And not just today but when Michigan and Michigan State are playing. (Laughs) Those phone messages he left during those games are so funny.”